


58th Time's a Charm

by captaintinymite (augopher)



Series: Lyric Lines as Dialogue [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Disappearance, Fae & Fairies, Injury, M/M, Parallel Universes, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 23:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4456589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/augopher/pseuds/captaintinymite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Liam, don’t!” Scott yelled as his beta, wolfed out and late to the party, came barreling into the circle from over the ridge. He lunged at the faery’s back right as it vanished before their eyes, taking Derek with it.</p>
<p>Derek disappeared on a Thursday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	58th Time's a Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to anonymous prompt submission as part of my Lyrics as Lines of Dialogue Prompt Event.
> 
> Number 4 "You’re gone, gone, gone away. I watched you disappear.” Magic spell that makes someone disappear
> 
> Lyric comes from Of Monsters and Men's [Little Talks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6BC_uQEEmM) which kind of inspired this fic

The air around them stilled like a vacuum had come in and sucked it away, along with all their breaths. Surprised, Stiles tripped over a rock and crashed to the floor of the preserve. He stood and dusted his palms on his jeans, wincing as the little pieces of gravel and sticks embedded in his palms snagged on his pants.

As he looked up, his heart stopped in his chest. The faery they’d been hunting–the same one who had sacrificed three virgins to the aether before the pack manage to catch its scent–stood less than five feet away from him. Teeth pointed and snarling, it had one pale blue hand wrapped around Derek’s throat. Those long fingers had daggers for claws, and they were pressing deep into Derek’s skin. Stiles’ mouth went dry at the sight of his fiance’s blood dripping down his neck.

“Don’t struggle, Wolfie. I could rip your throat out in one swipe. You’d be dead before any of your pack could reach you.”

“What do you want?“ Derek hissed.

"I want to go home! Call off your dogs. Tell them to let me go, and in turn I will let  _you_  go.”

“You know we can’t do that. You killed three people.”

It leaned in close to Derek’s ear. “I had no other choice. The door between your world and mine had closed.  My powers were limited. I needed a sacrifice to unlock it.  Believe me, I tried everything else to open it back up.”

While Derek had the faery distracted, Stiles took several tentative steps forward. He only had a couple feet between them now, could almost reach hi-

“Stop right there!”

Stiles held up his hands in surrender. “Please, just let him go. We will give you what-”

“Stiles, what are you saying? You know we w-”

“Yes, yes we will,” he said, his voice cracking. “Just don’t hurt him. Please. I’m begging you. Let him go.”

The faery considered his words. “Very well. You will all back up and keep going until I am sure you are far enough away. Then-”

“Liam, don’t!” Scott yelled as his beta, wolfed out and late to the party, came barreling into the circle from over the ridge. He lunged at the faery’s back right as it vanished before their eyes, taking Derek with it.

With the faery no longer in front of him,  nothing remained to separate Liam from himself. He crashed into Stiles, all ten claws sinking into him. Stiles spluttered and took a step back, grabbing his neck on instinct. It took a moment for what happened to register and for adrenaline to take over. Then, the panic set in.

“Scott,” he coughed, his voice weak and thick with blood, “I…sh…shit.” He stumbled backwards before collapsing to the ground.

“Stiles!” Scott’s form soon hovered over him, face staring down at him with eyes the size of saucers. “Oh my God!”

“De'rk? Wh…is he?” The blood in his throat was asphyxiating, and he couldn’t talk through all of it pooled in his mouth. “You got’… find ‘im. I…I nee…” He felt cold, and in his haze of adrenaline and fear, he heard Scott call for something to press against his wounds.

“Keep pressure on it.”

“I am! It’s not working. I’m sorry! I didn’t-”

“Apologize later.”

“Sco’ ’m I dyi…” Words were becoming harder and harder to form. “De'k.” Tears spilled from his eyes. “I…I…”

“Stiles, hang in there! We’ll get you patched up.”

His eyelids felt like lead, too heavy to keep open, and he was freezing. Maybe just a quick nap.

“No, don’t you fall asleep! Stay with us.” Scott shook him, his eyelids fluttered open. “You need to-” Something in Stiles’ eyes must have told him there was no time. “Stiles?”

With waning strength, he gave a little nod. Scott ripped back the sleeve of his shirt and sank his fangs into his wrist.. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Stiles tried to remember where they were, what day it was. Wednesday? No Thursday.

Derek disappeared on a Thursday.

 

*****

 

Stiles scrolled down the grocery list on his phone, muttering to himself about the sugar content of various cereals and the way they seemed to be totally lacking in nutrients. “God, I can already see the dental bill.” Nevertheless, he rubbed his forehead and dropped two boxes of the sugary cereal into the cart. “What do I still need? Nope, got that, and that, and tha- pickles? Again? Good God we go through a lot of pickles. I swear I just bought a jar last week.” As he rounded the corner, he caught the faintest hint of a scent that he used to know like the back of his hand, one that had all but faded in his life, remaining only in his memory.

Every hair on the back of his neck stood up, each of his heightened senses now on high alert. For all his problems mastering control after the bite took, Scott had nothing but praise for his uncanny ability to detect threats.

Forgetting all about the pickles, he pushed the cart down every aisle in the store in search of the source of that smell. He was teetering dangerously on the edge of losing control, and he took a deep breath to calm his heart rate. It was an odd feeling that he currently experienced, like the way the air charged with static right before a lightning strike, which obviously was not it, as outside was sunny with nary a cloud in the sky. He stopped where he stood, in the middle of the frozen foods aisle, and scrubbed a hand down his face.

It had to be the impending full moon. They’d exhausted all options long ago, and come up short. The only reason for him to pick up that scent was that the lunar cycle had to be fucking with him. Even that in itself was strange, as it hadn’t bothered him in quite some time. He needed a vacation.

Suddenly reminded of time constraints, he checked the time on his phone. “Shit,” he grumbled. He was gonna be late. “That’s gonna cost me.”

 

*****

 

“Stiles!” Derek pushed against the dimension door. Okay, so when that faery, Barley, as Derek now knew him, spoke of the door between worlds being locked, he expected it to be…well, a door. But it wasn’t. No, it was more like a hazy shower curtain pulled taut. It stretched every which direction, but when it was locked, it never gave way. He knew that. By now he was an expert at this.

He’d been struggling against the dimensional doors for weeks. Each time he found one open, his heart would swell only to have it crushed when he realized it was the wrong door, and that man was not his Stiles.

This time though, Derek had the right one. He was sure of it, but like so many times before, it was locked, and try as he might, he couldn’t open it. Through the blur, he could tell he hovered somewhere in the middle of the Safeway in town. He could hear Stiles muttering to himself, something about pickles, and he pushed at the barrier with all his might, screaming, praying Stiles could hear him. For a second, it seemed like he had, because Stiles began searching the store, finally stopping in aisle 14 right next to the pizzas and rubbed his face.

Stiles’ posture sank a bit, and though Derek could not see his face clearly, he knew if he could, he’d see exhaustion and defeat. It seemed like Stiles hadn’t heard him after all.

Derek sank to the ground. He just wanted to go home. Though they’d treated him well here in the Seelie Court, the gifts and kind gestures were nothing. He missed Stiles, missed his scent, missed his sleepy smile when he woke up in the morning, missed the way he fit perfectly in his arms. The fae could not give him that.

 

*****

 

Stiles awoke with a start. Someone was moving around downstairs, and a quick listen told him everyone who should be in the house was still asleep. The owner of the heartbeat downstairs was confused. There were more than a couple stutters in the rhythm and that chemosignal was definitely one of confusion.

Stiles didn’t care at all. Whoever they were, they were breaking and entering. Slinking down the stairs with all the werewolf stealth he could muster, Stiles froze on the stairs. There it was again, that scent. Someone was fucking with him, taunting him for fun, someone who knew how and where to hurt him, and he would have none of that.

He surged forward, colliding with the mysterious person and throwing them into the wall where he pinned them in place with an arm to the throat. Teeth snarling, and wolf eyes flashing, Stiles growled through his fangs, “What do you want from me?” He took a deep breath and was assaulted by that scent. He practically choked on the way flooded his nostrils.

“Stiles?”

 

*****

 

Sometime around one am, the barrier broke open and Derek fell through the plane and hit the ground with a thud. The thing with those dimensional doors was that they moved sometimes. So instead of crashing to the floor of the supermarket, he landed right in the middle of Beacon Avenue where he narrowly avoided becoming a werewolf pancake. He’d stood and looked around, and realized quickly that once again, it had been the wrong door,  because so much had changed and there was no way that happened in the weeks he’d been gone.

Still, as with every other time, he would not go back until he saw Stiles. It was the definitive confirmation each time. Those impostors, odd copies, _never_  smelled right.

He’d run all the way to his loft, where in every other world, Stiles still lived, but not this time. The building was now luxury condos. The realization hit him like a 2x4, almost knocked him on his ass. After a moment of panic, he resolved to try the Sheriff’s house. 

By the time he made it over to the Stilinski residence, it was nearing three in the morning, and Derek just wanted to get the disappointment over with. The front door was locked, as was Stiles’ bedroom window, and what in the… there were four people inside. Who would…

When he tried the back door, finding it unlocked, he sighed in relief. He’d only managed to take two steps into the living room when he found himself thrown against the wall, held in place by someone a lot stronger than him and glowing red eyes. Scott? But then, the other wolf spoke.

“What do you want from me?”

Derek couldn’t breathe. Not once, in any other plane had he encountered a Stiles that wasn’t human. Now…not only was his fiance a werewolf but also an alpha. This was bad; this was really bad. He needed to get back to the Fae realm and fast. He couldn’t stop himself from speaking, however. “Stiles?” The arm holding his throat immediately fell away, and the smell of saline filled the air.

“Derek?” Stiles’ voice was thick with emotion, and even in the dark, Derek could see the light sheen the tears had made on his face.

“No, no, this- you’re not…” Stiles took a shuddering breath. “Who are you, and why are you wearing Derek’s face?”

“Stiles, what are you talking about?”

“Tell me…”

“Tell you what?”

“Something only Derek would know.”

Derek’s ears picked up the sound of two others in the house waking up. “The first time I told you I loved you you were covered in green smoothie because-”

“I forgot to put the lid back on the blender.” There was a slight whimper in his voice. “Took hours to clean up.”

“There was smoothie in the light fixture, and the kitchen smelled vaguely of yogurt for weeks.” Derek was once again thrown back into the wall, but this time it was because Stiles had crushed him in a desperate hug.

Upstairs, someone started crying. “Daddy, I’m scared! I had bad dream.”

“I’ll get her.”

Was that… Cora? She lived with Stiles and had a kid? Derek couldn’t breathe. No, this felt like the right plane, seemed like his Stiles. Smelled like him, and so much was wrong. He actually found himself wanting to cry.

“I’m in the wrong universe again.” Shit, he hadn’t meant that to be out loud.

“What?”

"I’ve gone through fifty-seven different versions of this, and I thought for sure this was the right one, but everything’s different and you…you’re- This is another wrong turn.”

“How do  you know?”

“Beacon Avenue has a Target. The loft was converted to condos. You and my sister live together…there’s a kid involved. You’re a werewolf! This is-”

“Why did you think it was the right one?” Stiles asked as he flipped on a light.

“Because you smell right, but-”

Derek watched Stiles lick his lips and nod. “It’s the right one. Never thought we’d get you back.”

“Then what the hell happened while I was gone away?” He snapped.

Stiles scoffed. “Gone? Gone away? I watched you disappear!”Stiles balled his hands into fists and took a sharp intake of breath. “You’ve been gone for seven years, Derek!”

“No, it’s been a few weeks.”

“No. No, it hasn’t. Need further proof? Scott and Kira are married, have two kids. Deaton made him partner at the animal clinic. My dad retired two years ago. Lives with Melissa now. Lydia and Parrish live in Boston. Liam met some nice girl in college. They’re expecting. Who knows where Malia went? Haven’t heard from her in years. Oh, and …I turned thirty a month ago. I’m older than you now.”

Derek felt like he was going to be sick. “And your pack?

“Cora and Isaac and the little one. That’s it. That’s my pack.” Stiles helped him sit and pressed a glass of whiskey into his hand. “It’s werewolf approved.”

Derek winced at the taste of it. “How did you…”

Stiles sat down on the couch next to him, close but not touching. Derek ached for him, longed to hold him. Seven years  was practically a lifetime. Stiles had a whole life without him, and, and- His chest felt tight; his head throbbed, vision going white on him. Then, he felt Stiles squeeze the back of his neck. “Deep breaths, inhale and hold, now exhale. Good. Again. Inhale…and exhale.”

Without even realizing it, Derek nuzzled into Stiles neck and earned a quick snarl and snap of teeth. What…oh. Right.

“Sorry,” Stiles said, his voice tinged with regret. “I know it’s you, but my wolf doesn’t. Not yet.”

“No, it’s- I get it.” Stiles shifted on the couch so he could throw an arm around his shoulders, and Derek melted into it, baring his neck.

“No, that’s not- not like this.” Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, Derek, I tried everything, exhausted every option. I went back to that spot in the Preserve every day for years. It took me eight months to be able to control myself on the full moon. You disappeared, and it left me anchorless, rudderless, drowning. They had to chain me up, not because I was a threat to the town, but because I was a danger to myself.”

“Speaking of that.”

Stiles rubbed Derek’s shoulder. “Funny thing about disappearing. When there is no longer a homesick faery standing in front of you, an uninformed but well meaning young beta has nothing to stop him from crashing into you and accidentally puncturing your carotid. I was gonna die. So, hello, Derek. Nice to meet you. I’m Stiles, and I’m a werewolf.”

Derek gave him a soft chuckle. “And the uh…”

“Alpha thing? Asshole alpha, in search of a pack and territory, went after my dad, and let’s just say I was a little overzealous. So, here we are.”

Derek dropped his head into his hands. This was too much. He couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact Stiles was an alpha werewolf, now older than him, was a parent. Stiles rubbed his back in soothing circles.

“I finally gave up hope a few years ago. I was miserable and alone, and…it was Cora’s idea. She offered, thought it might help bring me closure.”

Derek scrubbed at his scalp. He was not hearing this, couldn’t listen to how his fiance was going to tell him that he’d moved on and apparently was with his sister of all people. They had a kid together. This- Someone just shoot him. “I don’t think I can take hearing this Stiles. I can’t listen to you tell me you’re with someone else, let alone my little sister. I’m gonna go.” When he tried to stand, Stiles yanked him back down to the couch.

“I’m not with Cora, Derek. She,” he sighed, “was my egg donor. She thought if we weren’t going to get you back, maybe she could help give me something that you and I wanted but didn’t get. Found a surrogate, Jamie, she’s nice. I have lunch with her once a week. Cora is, well she’s Aunt Cora. Derek, there’s been no- okay, that’s not true. I had a couple moments of weakness. I regretted them afterwards, but…no one was ever going to be you, and it was never going to feel right so…” He stood. “Do you want to meet Talia?

Derek looked up at him and felt his heart stop. "You-”

Stiles took his hand. “Come on.” He led them both upstairs to what used to be Stiles’ old room. It was now a soft shade of purple. In the corner, his sister sat holding a toddler. Derek’s face twisted in on itself. Cora was staring at him with tears streaming down her face.

“Der? You’re really back? How? Why now?” She handed her niece over to Stiles and wrapped her brother in a hug.

“I had to test a lot of other doors to find the right universe.” She rubbed his cheek, and he covered her hand with his own.

“Welcome back.”

He nodded. She looked so much like their mother now that it almost hurt to look at her. When he turned around to see Stiles holding his daughter, he couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.

“Daddy, why is he crying?”

Stiles whispered something in her ear, and her face lit up as she lunged towards Derek. He barely caught her. Those large brown eyes were almost carbon copies of Stiles’, the smile too, but she was not quite as fair skinned. Though it was a mess with bedhead, her hair was as dark as ink, just like his. His mouth went dry when she wrapped her little arms around his neck.

“She knows about you, Derek. I talked about  you all the time. Just so she’d know you if you ever found your way back.”

“She looks like us.” His voice cracked.

“That was the point, that even if I never got you back-” Stiles rubbed at his chin. “Never mind, here you are. And- She’s young. Before long, she’ll forget there was ever a time you weren’t here, and then she’ll call you whatever you want her to.”

Derek stared at Stiles’ left hand, where the band he’d given him apparently eight years ago was. “You kept wearing it.”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like you chose to leave me.” He set Talia back in bed and tucked her in. Then, he led Derek out of the room.

In the hallway, he took Derek’s face in his hands. “Derek, even after the years ticked by and everyone told me to move on, I still loved you. That never changed. I’m yours, still yours, was always gonna be yours.” He kissed Derek’s forehead. “No matter what.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on [Tumblr](www.captaintinymite.tumblr.com)


End file.
